Pocono businesses had a good run with triathlon

Tuesday

Oct 2, 2012 at 12:01 AM

Starbucks had a run on skinny lattes this past weekend, and you can thank the Ironman triathlon. A surge in local business appeared to have offset the frustrations of road closures and inconvenience suffered by motorists during Sunday's Ironman 70.3 Pocono Mountains triathlon.

HOWARD FRANK

Starbucks had a run on skinny lattes this past weekend, and you can thank the Ironman triathlon.

A surge in local business appeared to have offset the frustrations of road closures and inconvenience suffered by motorists during Sunday's Ironman 70.3 Pocono Mountains triathlon.

The swell of customers began Friday and lasted the entire weekend.

"It was busier than usual," Starbucks Supervisor Nikki Burns said at the Main Street coffee shop. "We did better this year than last."

The race attracted almost 1,500 competitors from 30 states and 15 countries, according to Carl Wilgus, president and CEO of Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau.

"These are people who wouldn't have been here if it weren't for the race," he said.

Some Stroudsburg merchants reported increases of as much as 30 percent.

"This is good for the economy, the gas stations, restaurants, hotels," former visitors bureau executive director Bob Uguccioni said. "When you get people into any kind of event here, it's not just the event that benefits. There's a ripple effect throughout the economy."

How good was it?

"It did help," said Venuto's pizzeria owner Kathy Grando, who estimated the restaurant's business was up between 20 and 30 percent.

"If we had events all the time, it would help Main Street businesses. I'd like to see more of it," she said.

A study commissioned by the visitor's bureau estimated that last year's triathlon generated about $1 million in revenues for local businesses.

It wasn't just food and beverage shops that profited from the influx of people.

"We sold a lot of things we might not have sold otherwise," said George Carroll, co-owner of Carroll and Carroll Booksellers. "It wasn't as good as a Grateful Dead concert but better than a slushy ski day."

Carroll said he thought the bookstore attracted visiting families with children who felt it was a more appropriate place to take kids than, say, a bar.

Vincent Jordan, vice president of marketing for Mount Airy Casino Resort, said the resort was already booked for the weekend for its Cork and the Fork wine and food festival.

"However, we did see a noticeable increase in food and beverage sales on Saturday and especially Sunday that we know came from triathlon participants and their families," he said. "The Ironman competition definitely affected our numbers positively, and I think it was not only great for Mount Airy, it was great for the entire Pocono region."

For every dollar spent by a visitor in the area, another three are spent locally, according to Uguccioni.

When hotels and restaurants are booked, employees get paid. They, in turn, spend that money. Business also generates orders for food and supplies.

The shop is near the Sherman Theater and within a section of Main Street where the Finish Line Festival was held Sunday.

Romney said business was up about 30 percent on Sunday.

"You hear people talking about how much they loved the area, the trees, the leaves," Bob Phillips, president and CEO of the Greater Pocono Chamber of Commerce, said. "Say what you want, but it gets us known across the country."

It's the type of event Uguccioni said the area should have more of.

"If we can have an event that takes advantage of our natural beauty and brings money into the area without polluting anything, that's the best of both worlds," he said.